


Dream About Me

by TrolledByDestiny



Category: The Giver Series - Lois Lowry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Childhood Friends, Dorks in Love, How Do I Tag, M/M, Night Terrors, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Wet Dream, good ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-07-25 06:31:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16192007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrolledByDestiny/pseuds/TrolledByDestiny
Summary: When a child starts to experience stirrings, the person they dream about is their soulmate.Jonas isn't ready to admit is best friend is in his stirrings.





	1. Chapter 1

Jonas had his first stirring four weeks after he returned from crossing the border. He had fallen asleep soundly, but woke up in a sweat, his body on fire and his face almost unbearably hot.

 

_''Jonas,'' he heard his best friend say, waving his hand in front of his pale blue eyes. Jonas blinked, and looked up from where he was looking. It was nothing in particular, he just had nothing else to do. ''We doin' this, or not?''_

 

_Asher, his best friend, was sitting on the edge of the river, with a basket for newchildren in his hands. It was bigger than the usual ones, and Jonas had no idea how he got his hands on it, but he decided not to ask. Asher sparked the brilliant idea to ride down the river in it. Jonas knew it was 'tubing', or 'surfing', as that was what the Giver told him. He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded._

 

_"Good. When Fiona said no, I feared you'd do the same. She grew up, I guess." Asher said with a shrug, and tossed aside his red tunic, which matched his ginger hair, and brought out the freckles that dusted his cheeks. A grin rose to his lips. "I'm glad you didn't."_

 

_Asher asked both Jonas and Fiona to join him on his little adventure, but she declined. She said it was against the rules, and that she wouldn't participate. Asher must have feared that Jonas would do the same thing, but he would follow his best friend to the ends of time. He happily refused when Fiona denied._

 

_"And leave you out here, alone? You wouldn't know how to get in the thing without me." Jonas said with a sly smile. Asher rolled his eyes playfully, and nudged his shoulder._

 

_"Whatever, Jonas-bonus. Take your tunic off so we can get going. You're as slow as the elders."_

 

_Jonas tossed aside his blue tunic, and finally took a moment to admire his friend. Since they had just turned twelve, they both had bare chests, but Asher's was littered with freckles and bruises. The bruises he understood, since Asher was a reckless boy. But the freckles were a pleasant surprise._

_"...Jonas?"_

 

_Jonas snapped out of it, and set aside the blue tunic he once wore. He muttered an apology, which Asher gladly accepted, and the two approached the water. It was moving slow, but the current was strong enough to whisk them away, if they weren't careful._

 

_Jonas watched as Asher set the basket down upon a rock that was  sticking out of the river, and then climbed into the big container. "Come sit on my lap, Jonas-bonus." He teased._

 

_Warmth flooded the Reciever's cheeks as he did was he was told, clambering in next to the ginger, and settled himself on his lap._

 

_"Ready?" Asher asked him, and although he was very playful and eager, a seriousness was laced in his voice. Jonas knew he wouldn't go through with this if Jonas didn't want to. Luckily, he did._

 

_"As I'll ever be." Jonas replied with a nod, and he wished he could photograph the grin that rose onto his best friend's face. Asher moved his hands back and pushed them off the rock, and they started to float down the river. At first, it was shaky and almost scary, but once they eased into it, they were laughing and splashing each other. At a particularly slow part of the current, the basket rocked softly, enough to where Jonas wanted to fall asleep in Asher's arms. He reluctantly laid his hand down over Asher's, and intertwined their fingers, which the ginger allowed without question._

 

_"I like this." Jonas said softly, and looked above at the stars and the moon that shone down on them like spotlights on a stage. A small laugh came from Asher._

 

_"Of course you do. I came up with the idea." Asher hummed, and pulled Jonas closer. Jonas looked behind him, and slowly and carefully started to turn himself around. Asher helped him with this, and eventually, Jonas had his legs wrapped around Asher's back, and they were facing each other._

 

_"Jonas, I.." Asher started softly, his face tinted red. "..can I...?"_

 

_Jonas didn't know what Asher wanted, but his body spoke for him. "Go ahead."_

_And then Asher leaned in and the world seemed to slow down. Jonas could take in each feature of his face. The soft brown freckles that rose up his cheeks and dotted his eyelids and under his eyes. The tuft of hair that ell down in front of his damp red hair. The way his green eyes turned a darker shade before he shut his eyes._

 

_The kiss they shared lasted a brief moment before Jonas woke up. Asher's lips were surprisingly soft, which contrasted Jonas chapped ones. It was soft and innocent, and yet it also hid a hunger and a want they didn't want to let show._

 

_And then, Jonas woke up._

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to say that this story is a mix of the book, the movie, and my imagination. Jonas being able to come back from the border while everyone remembered what he knew? My imagination. The Giver living on the outskirts of the town in a small wooden house? From the movie. Jonas getting all of the memories while laying on a bed? From the book. Make sense?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Jonas has been fairly distant since he had his first stirring, which made Asher both worried and upset. He feared that this was Jonas’ way of betraying him, if leaving him behind. Asher never had his stirring yet, and everyone assumed as soon as he had his, his soulmate would be Fiona. The two weren’t as close as he was with Jonas, but two males being soulmates was uncommon. They weren’t supposed to treat it as a bad thing, since that was ‘just the way love worked’, but most people didn’t like it.

 

Jonas stayed home, when he could. Or, he spent a lot of time with the Giver. After returning back his home once he passed the border, the Giver expected everyone to forget what they saw, but instead they remembered everything. They could see color, and experience sadness and joy, and everything else that Jonas learned. Now, the community set up a system, where every year the Reviever will be flown out past the border to share new memories. Jonas was glad he could do this, since that meant the Giver never had to forget anything he told Jonas.

 

The old man gave Jonas a lot of comfort. He made him feel happy. He even called him grandpa, once or twice. That made him cry the first time he said it, so Jonas was very cautious when using that word. Only at appropriate times would he use it.

 

Jonas decided to tell the Giver what he experienced that night, when he had his stirring. He trusted the Giver not to tell anyone more than his parents. ‘Parents’.

 

Jonas more often than not stayed with the Giver, with Gabe. He was more of a parent than his mother and father ever were. Sometimes, he visited to say hi to Lily, to catch up, say hi to his mom. He never said anything to his father. The memory of his father killing that child was still fresh in his mind, and he would never forgive him for that. He was just glad he could get Gabe away from them.

 

He parked his bike lazily outside the front door to the Giver’s home, and made his way down the stairs and to the main quarters, where the Giver was happily reading a book. He glanced up and waved at Jonas when he saw him, and Jonas did the same in reply. 

 

“Good afternoon, Giver.” Jonas greeted happily, and sat down on the bed he slept in, when he came here. He looked over at the crib where Habe was currently sleeping, and smiled. The boy was basically a toddler now, and knew how to say his own name. He would admit, though, hearing Gabe call himself gay was quite amusing. 

 

“Same to you, Jonas. Would you like anything to eat or drink? I know that the school food isn’t.. all that pleasant.” The man asked, which made Jonas chuckle, and shake his head.

 

“No.. I’m alright.” Jonas replies with a smile. It was small, hardly noticeable, but there. The Giver moved his chair closer to the bed, closer to Jonas.

 

“You seem preoccupied, Jonas. What’s on your mind?” The Giver asked worriedly. He didn’t want his ‘grandson’ to be in distress.

 

With a soft sigh, Jonas came clean. “I.. I had my first stirring last night.” He mumbled, his cheeks flushing red from embarrassment. That was certainly not what the Giver expected, but he smiled at him. 

 

“Really now? That’s quite big, Jonas. Who is your soulmate? If you don’t kind me asking, of course. I do not want you to tell me anything that would make you uncomfortable.”

 

Telling the Giver who was in his stirring with him made him more scared than he thought it would be. He thought it would be simple. He’d just say who it was, nothing to it. But he started feeling doubt. Shame. It made telling him much harder than it should have been.

 

“If I tell you.. do you promise not to tell anyone else?” Jonas asked cautiously. He twiddled his thumbs, anxious enough you could almost feel it radiating off of him.

 

The man nodded in front of him. “I promise, Jonas. It’ll be our secret.” He said honestly, putting one of his large hands over one of Jonas’ small ones. The boy sighed shakily.

 

He felt tears in his eyes, he was so scared. But he dug himself in this mess, he had to say it now. “Asher! It was Asher!” He admitted loudly, his body shaking. He let the tears slip down his face, and looked at anything but the Giver. 

 

Silence filled the room for a few seconds, and that was scary for Jonas. He wanted to stand up and run, to leave, to forget that he ever had a stirring. Maybe he could float down the river, just like his dream, to another community. They wouldn’t have to know.

 

Before he could truly indulge in his fantasy, the boy was tugged into a hug. “Oh, Jonas.. you have to reason to cry. Asher is your soulmate, and that is okay.”

 

Jonas managed to calm down within a few minutes, though he still sniffled when he pulled away. “...wh-what if.. what if Asher’s soulmate.. isn’t me?”

 

He meant to just think it, but now that he said it out loud, he was even more scared.

 

What if Asher would never love him back?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry I never post lmao  
> updates will be irregular but i'll try to have some up

Another night, another stirring. Due to policy, Jonas wasn't allowed to stay overnight with the Giver unless his 'parents' okayed it. He assumed his mother would, she was kind and understanding, so it was only his father he worried about. If he could, he would try and sleep with Lily. That mainly consisted of him watching over her, like she needed to be protected by a danger that was lurking in the shadows. He would force himself to stay awake by doing anything. He taught himself how to sing the ABC's backwards, how to juggle, how to shuffle a deck of cards. Eventually he would just let his eyes close, telling himself 'it'll only be for a few minutes', but he'd fall asleep the rest of the night. For a twelve year old, he was dedicated to his sister and Gabe, though he stayed with the Giver now.

 

Tonight was one of those nights where his father told him he had to sit with his family like any other child. Jonas would never call these three other people his family, with the exception of Lily. Tension hung over them like a blanket every dinner. They'd share dreams, talk about their feelings. Jonas tried not to say much, usually 'My day was fine. No dreams', and his mother would correct him by asking to define what 'fine' meant. Even with their new knowledge of feelings, true feelings, they still had this process. Feelings were difficult for most to understand. 

 

He slept in Lily's room again. It was farther away from his parent's room anyway, and there weren't any cameras on that side of the house, making it easier to sneak out if he needed. Tonight he tried to think of every male name he could think of, alphabetically. He ended up getting to 'Francisco' and drifted off to sleep, causing another stirring on the little windowsill he called his bed.

 

_Pocky. It was a weird treat, one that had briefly appeared in one of his sessions with the Giver. he asked about it, and somehow he had landed himself his own personal box of the snack. They were thin, weirdly shaped, but upon eating one he discovered it tasted great. He had to refrain from eating them all in one sitting, since he was unsure if he'd ever get a taste of them after the box was gone._

 

_Sitting in the middle of his 'school', which was really just behavioral lessons and sex ed, he began to think about the snack. He wasn't particularly hungry, and he wasn't craving them, instead he was just thinking about the shape. They reminded him of pencils, in a way. When he looked across the room to see Asher, lightly nibbling on the back of his pencil (which he was scolded for) he got an idea, that made him both blush and grin._

 

_He had to wait until the lessons were over, since their lunch and recess periods were already over. Most of his class time was spent watching the clock, since he had already been taught this and he could care less about it anyway, his new plan was more important. Finally, the final bell chimed, and the first thing Jonas did was go approach Asher._

 

_"Hey man!" Asher exclaimed loudly when he saw Jonas walking up to him. Since Asher was naturally loud, a few kids turned around to glare at him, but neither boy seemed to mind._

 

_"Hey." Jonas tugged on the end of his tunic, a nervous habit he seemed to get from Gabe, who did it when he was upset or was too afraid to ask for something. "I, uh.. wanna try something out. You wanna help me?"_

 

_Asher piled all of his things into his bag, which was quite messy as it was, but the giant health book thrown inside and crushing papers didn't seem to help. When he was finished, he looked up and flashed Jonas a toothy grin. "Of course! What are we doing? Did we score any of those new tablet things from Sandra's office? That would be amazing."_

 

_Jonas had to chuckle, and pulled his friend out of the now vacant classroom by his wrist. He longed to hold his hand, but he didn't want others to see, so he didn't. "Uh.. no, sadly. Didn't I tell you that yesterday?" Jonas knew for a fact that he did, he just wanted the satisfaction of hearing the redhead say it._

 

_"...yeah, you did. Sorry!" That simple comment drew out a smile from the receiver, who continued to lead him along to his home, still dragging him by the wrist. The farther they went, the less people there were to see, but the cameras were still a threat to their privacy._

 

_"Yeah, pay attention next time." He joked, jabbing him in the side lightly, which made the other boy squeal and jerk away. Jonas knew he was ticklish on his sides. "Anyway, there's this game I wanna try out, with that Pocky stuff I told you about at recess."_

 

_He could see Lily walk up and park her bike, waving goodbye to her two friends. Daria and Sissle were good girls, always got good grades in school, was never late, were rarely scolded. Innocent, sweet, and a carbon copy of everyone else. If Daria ever let her hair out of those two pigtails they're always in, secured by lavender bows, you couldn't tell them apart. When Lily met her older brothers eyed rom a little ways away, she waved at him and Asher, and stepped inside the house, kicking her dirty shoes off before walking in. She much have been playing by the river._

 

_They both walked inside and Jonas quickly tugged him into his room, ignoring his usual routine of getting an applesauce from the fridge and sharing half with his mom. He sat Asher down, and went to get the pocky from his drawer._

 

_"So.. What kind of game is this?" The head tilt that followed his question made the brunette's heart melt. Taking a stick out from the box, he waved it in his face, making sure he had his full attention so he could explain and not repeat himself twelve times._

 

_"Okay, so I had an idea.. We'll call it the Pocky game, alright?" He messed with his end, spinning it around some. "So.. I'm gonna put my mouth on one side, and you do the other. The goal is to eat more of the Pocky than the other person. Okay?"_

 

_Asher scratched his head. "Yeah, but.. what if we kiss?"_

 

_That was the whole point of the game, but Jonas wasn't going to say that. "Well, then we kiss. There's worse things that can happen, right?" In all honesty, Jonas was reluctant to talk about the game, since he was afraid Asher might think he was weird._

 

_"...Okay. I'm gonna win, I hope you know that!" Asher yelled proudly, which probably would have alerted his mom that he was home, but the door was locked, so she was unable to get inside._

 

_Both boys sat their lips on either side of the piece of Pocky, and after Jonas told Asher to scoot back because he was too far up and that was cheating, they actually started the game. Jonas was slow, unlike Asher, who tried really hard. As Jonas predicted, their lips lightly grazed one another's, but it wasn't enough for him._

 

_"Hah! I beat yo-" Jonas cut the redhead off with another kiss, done properly this time. There wasn't as much hesitance, since he knew what he wanted. His stomach was turning, scared that Asher didn't actually like this, but those fears drifted away when he felt the other kiss back. Jonas pushed him back against the bed, hovering over him.._

 

_"JONAS!"_

 

_Well, so much for that._


End file.
